Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
"My peculiar relation to the writer of the following narratives is such that I must ask the reader to overlook the absence of explanation as to how they came into my possession. Withal, my knowledge of him is so meager that I should rather not undertake to say if he were himself persuaded of the truth of what he relates; certainly such inquiries as I have thought it worth while to set about have not in every instance tended to confirmation of the statements made." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Tap into the mind of one of the greatest ghost story writers of all times
This short collection is guaranteed to make you feel eerie in those cold, dark nights when you stayed home alone to read. But then again how else to savor these stories? Here is a pointer. Get your hands on a copy of this book sometime around mid-day Friday. Blow off your friends for the night and go straight home. Wait until the daylight is just a memory and then sit with this book on your favorite old chair, preferably near a window, and delve into it with only the nightstand light on. Take time reading each page, relish each word, don't pay attention to the creepy scratching on you window, or the squeaking in the other rooms, it's all just in your mind.Whether you'll remember about the serial murders in the book, or the ghostly apparitions- it won't matter. What'll matter is how you experience reading about them...give it a try, be brave...

-by Simon Cleveland
... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
There came to them out of the fog--seemingly from a great distance--the sound of a laugh, a low, deliberate, soulless laugh which had no more of joy than that of a hyena night-prowling in the desert; a laugh that rose by slow gradation, louder and louder, clearer, more distinct and terrible, until it seemed barely outside the narrow circle of their vision; a laugh so unnatural, so unhuman, so devilish, that it filled those hardy man-hunters with a sense of dread unspeakable! ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Ambrose (Gwinett) Bierce, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2858 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great collection but available for free...
It's nice to have a hard copy, but for $79 you may want to opt for the free online copy available at www.gutenberg.org ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fine example of quality research
Owens extensive research is always apparent in this work. A wonderful read. Provides great insight to Bierce's life as a solider. Is a great source of new lines of thinking regarding Bierce's work. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the Civil War or Ambrose Bierce.

Any interested in Bierce's background must have The Devil's Topographer
The Devil's Topographer: Ambrose Bierce And The American War Story tells one who was billed 'the first writer of fiction ever to treat war realistically'. This realism came from Bierce's experiences as a Union soldier in the Civil War, where he moved from soldier to cartographer and saw major battles of the war. Any interested in Bierce's background must have The Devil's Topographer: it outlines an important part of his life and sets over twenty of his war stories chronologically according to the story's action. ... Read more

Book Description
This volume is the sixth in a series of books which present great literature in comics and heavily illustrated formats, by some of the best artists working today in the fields of comics, book illustration, and fine arts. The book includes war stories, horror, satire, and comedy. Featured are "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," "The Devil's Dictionary," and "Bierce's Fables." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Good comix
The graphics and story are pretty true to the originals that I have read.The stories are condensed a bit, and are easier to digest for young folks.

Excellent motivator to read more/complete works of this author
I purchased this for my 7 yr old as he likes reading graphic novels.It is somewhat mature for a 7 year old, but certainly more interesting than what most 7yr olds could typically read.I've read it, too and have started branching out a bit into Bierce's work.I would recommend all the graphic classics.

Cowboy ghosts, the Devil's tongue, and Fables of a Cynic
Of all the Graphic Classics series that I have read, Ambrose Bierce is the author that I am least familiar with.I knew him as the author of "The Devil's Dictionary," and I knew the story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" although I did not know he was the author.In fact, I knew it mainly as an episode of "The Twilight Zone." With this in mind, it was one of the most exciting volumes to explore, as I was discovering the author and his writings for the first time, through the Graphic Classics vehicle.

First off, the very cool cover was definitely a lure for this lesser-known author.Satan sipping blood cocktails and going over the latest entries in his dictionary was just too good to pass up. Due to the short nature of Bierce's stories, there is a much wider variety of styles and interpretations inside the book.It is almost too much to take in one sitting, and I found myself reading a story here and there instead of straight through. With so much variation, not everything is going to please, but overall I was completely entertained by the author and the artists.

This volume contains:

"The Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce" - A nice biographical piece.Even more interesting as I knew nothing of the story and little of Ambrose Bierce himself.

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" - An excellent adaptation of his most-famous story, using what looks like computer graphics.Very shadowy and with a nice feel.

"The Race at Left Bower" - A funny little bit, with amusing illustrations.

"The Devil's Dictionary" - A selection of entries from the cynical author, juxtaposed with Leslie Murray's own cynical brand of humor.Very nicely done.

"An Imperfect Conflagration" - Victorian horror illustrator Rick Geary handles this tale of a father-and-son thief team, murder and a fireproof cabinet.Exactly up Geary's alley.

"The Stranger" - An old west ghost tale, fully illustrated in the style of 1950's Western comics.Chilling.

"One Summer Night" - A grave robber's tale.Surrealistic illustrations add to the grim, short tale.

"Moxon's Master"-Cautionary Sci Fi, a text-and-pictures piece with art-deco illustrations that look as if they came from a fashion magazine.Not my favorite tale over all.

"Bierce's Fables" - The ultimate mixed bag.29 stories by just as many different artists.Something to please, and something to annoy, everyone.Just the way Bierce would have liked it, I imagine.

"The Boarded Window" - Gahan Wilson handles this odd tale of the dead and not dead.Almost like "The Fall of the House of Usher" in a log cabin.

"The Hypnotist" - An odd tale, with an odd artist.A good combination.

"Oil of Dog" - One of my favorites.Great, gloomy illustrations perfectly compliment a disturbing tale of baby-killers and Oil Makers.

"Curried Cow" - Not the food dish, curry, as I was expecting.A twist-ending funny story, with cartoonish illustrations by Milton Knight.

A Very Mixed Bag
I'm a big fan of graphic storytelling and a big fan of Bierce, but not a particularly big fan of this volume. This is the first of the "Graphic Classics" series I've come across, and I like the concept of harnessing a wide range of underground cartooning talent in the service of great literature of the past. This showcase for Bierce begins promisingly enough, with a well-written biographical introduction by S.T. Joshi, supported by a cartoony four pages about Bierce's legendary disappearance. This is followed by John Coulhart's lovely ten page adaptation of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", a story widely read in American high schools.

Alas, from here on, it's a much more mixed bag. A forgettably sketched five page adaptation of "The Race at Left Bower" is followed by six pages of entries from "The Devil's Dictionary" which are broken up with lame graphics from greeting card illustrator Leslie Murray. "An Imperfect Conflagration" is a great story, but Rich Geary's eleven pages of panels doesn't quite do it justice. Conversely, "The Stranger" is only a so-so story, but Mark Nelson's seven pages of stark, high-contrast art gives it some real atmosphere. Francesca Ghermandi brings a European sensibility to the grave robber story "One Summer Night", but it doesn't really work. "Moxon's Master" is the longest read, with some ten text-heavy pages with one or two inset illustrations per page. These are by Stanley Shaw, and while they're nice in a mid-'90s comic book style, there's not a whole lot in the text for him to work with.

Next are a bunch of Bierce's "Fables"--29 spread out over 36 pages of wildly varying style and quality. These encompass artists from the US, Canada, England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Australia. The best of these are probably those by Skip Williamson, Simon Gane, William Brown, and Lesley Reppeteaux. Following these are four more stories, including "The Boarded Window" and "The Hypnotist", neither of which are illustrated in a style I found compelling. "Oil of Dog" is a dark, dark story, with suitably gloomy and evocative art by Annie Owens. "Curried Cow" ends things on a bad note, with goofy cartoony panels by Milton Knight.

On the whole, if you're interested in the work of Ambrose Bierce, you're better off thumbing through a copy of The Devil's Dictionary or picking up a volume of his complete short stories. Fan's of the graphic medium will find such a variety of art that something is bound to please, even if much else isn't.

Tales of war, satire, the occult, and more
Graphic Classics is a rousing and impressive anthology of the illustrated stories by Ambrose Bierce, tales of war, satire, the occult, and more. Bringing together contributions from a very wide variety of artists, Graphic Classics features sharp wit, biting insight, and a vast range of illustrative styles. Enhanced with an Introduction by S. T. Joshi, Graphic Classics is very highly recommended for graphic novel enthusiasts, and a "must read" for the legions of fans of the literary legacy of Ambrose Bierce. ... Read more

Book Description
A lively and compelling portrait of one of the most acerbic and distinctive voices in American literature, Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company is a clear-eyed but sympathetic account of a complex individual at odds with his country, his family, his times, and himself. The only American writer of any stature to fight in and survive the Civil War, Bierce discovered in the conflict a bitter confirmation of his darkest assumptions about man and his nature. Profoundly disillusioned, Bierce spent the next fifty years struggling to disabuse his fellow Americans of their own cherished ideals--be they romantic, religious, or political. His groundbreaking short stories of the war, including his most famous work, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," have had a lasting influence on every subsequent American author dealing with war.And the heartless, hilarious aphorisms in his caustic lexicon The Devil's Dictionary have entered, often uncredited, our national consciousness. In this insightful, critically acclaimed biography, the first comprehensive study in almost fifty years, Roy Morris, Jr., accounts for both the influential art that Ambrose Bierce made from a harsh and unforgiving vision--and the high price he had to pay for it in loneliness, rancor, and spiritual isolation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Worth reading for the speculation alone -- maybe Bierce didn't die in Mexico
Conventional wisdom and history books have it that Ambrose Bierce died in Mexico during the Revolution. But Morris, in this in-depth biography, offers a fairly plausible alternative. (Sorry, not giving the store away as part of the review; you're going to have to get your hands on this book.)

Much of the rest of the speculation in which Morris engages is psychological. He first analyses Bierce's childhood and parents, then takes note of his Civil War head wound, and wonders just how much the two of these things combined to contribute to the Ambrose Bierce we know today.

That said, while not denying either childhood or adult causes of personality development -- or personality change -- I give more credence to genetic causes, i.e., the ideas of evolutionary psychology, properly applied.

I find it likely that Bierce was pretty much born with tendencies toward the character he later exhibited. His upbringing and his war wound may have intensified it, but I think he came by much of his cynicism naturally. Life events probably added the dollop of churlishness to it.

I teeter on a rating and end up at 4 stars. If I were to fine tune, it would probably be about 3 2/3 stars. The psycho-speculation is interesting, but in addition to being incomplete, if not somewhat wrong, too much of a focus on it means less focus on historical biography or on literary analysis.

Bierce a lesser figure?
I am perfectly aware that to say that Ambrose Bierce was the most original, provocative and fascinating of all American writers (not to say the most brilliant of all) is like preaching in the desert. It is probably going to cost me a lot of negative feedback to say what I'm going to say, so I won't extend myself more than what it is absolutely necessary in order to speak my mind.

The main reason for me to write this review is that this laughable biography by Roy Morris is so flagrantly detrimental on Bierce's accomplishments that I personally didn't want to lose the opportunity to advise you against reading such a lot of blather. The author even puts an awful novel like "The Red Badge of Courage" above Bierce's war stories (hilarious, isn't it?). After that, what else can be said about this biographer's ineptitude? Let's draw a veil over it and forget it.

Anyone wishing to know something about the skilled artistry and posterior influence of the Ohio writer would be better looking for another book written by someone who had actually grasped Bierce's significance. But the best thing to do is reading Bierce's stories on your own and make up your mind about them instead of losing your time with the prejudices and lack of perspective of others.

After reading some passages of this book, I reassure myself in my opinion that literary critics are, well, funny...

In a world where mediocrity runs rampant and where authors like Mark Twain and the hideous Henry James have always been praised, it is difficult that really worthy authors like Bierce can find the recognition they deserve. But, perhaps, it is better that way, I don't know.

What I know for sure (because I've seen it) is that, when a genius is born, all nefarious souls tend to ally themselves against it. Anyway, how could a writer like Bierce be enjoyed by a majority? It's impossible.

Well, I don't think this review is gonna get anywhere, so I'd better stop here. Thank you for your reading.

Note- sorry for any bad grammar on my part. I don't usually write in the language of the "Empire".

Bierce
"Bitter Bierce" they called him because of his scathing sarcasm. After the Civil War, in which he fought valiantly for four years, he went to San Francisco and began writing for the Hearst newspapers. Satire was his game. He wrote a couple of decent short stories ("Chickamauga" and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"), THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY, and that's about it (other books, mainly short story and poetry collections, have been forgotten, in some cases unfairly so). His wit, as revealed in the DICTIONARY is clever, but at times sophomoric. Influenced by Poe, many of his stories deal with the supernatural and are laced with horror. He disappeared in Mexico in 1913 and was never seen again. Speculation, from suicide to fighting for Pancho Villa, has been rampant ever since. Morris does a good job relating the events of Bierce's strange life, who must have been a very difficult man to know.

Definative Bio of Bierce
This book gives insight into one of the American literary greats. There are times that the book drags, but I think this is due as much to the author as to the fact that some moments in Bierce's life are so interesting that when you read about the "average" moments in his life, you are left, well , bored. This is a good book for a Bierce fan or someone that would like to learn about an American writer who, deservedly, lived in the shadow of Twain.

A momentum-gaining insight into a man for all eras
While early on the book lagged, it built momentum to the point where I had a hard time putting it down.Examining the circumstances that produced this complicated individual proved fascinating and heartbreaking.Outsideevents and Bierce himself conspired to find misery and disappointment atevery turn.The book is sympathetic to Bierce, but not fawning- he's notpraised as a great writer, but he is acknowledged to be the best writeramong Civil War veterans. His newspaper columns are also praised, and theerosion of his patriotism after what he saw in the war (not just at Shiloh)is something that can be best understood by post Vietnam-era readers. Manyof the cited quotes (particularly the bitingly critical ones) contain asharp wit that can't be missed.I enjoyed the book and it encouraged me toread more about the era.Bierce was in many ways a forerunner of WalterWinchell (read Neal Gabler's great bio) and you can also see traces ofmodern observational humorists such as George Carlin.Piece of advice,though- don't tell anyone that they remind you of Bierce! ... Read more

Book Description
When three pretty young suffragists known as the Trey of Pearls come to San Francisco, the city’s brawling and unrefined men whip themselves into a lather of desire and defiance. But the murder of Reverend Divine, the famous advocate of spiritualism, temperance, and the female vote, sets Ambrose Bierce and Tom Redmond on the trail to uncover a darker side to the girls’ composure and comeliness—free love, a jeweled harem, and a web of San Francisco’s most powerful men desperately trying to cover their pasts.

As the two sleuths begin to glimpse the truth, the body count builds and tensions—both political and social—erupt into a standoff among suffragists, hard-drinking diehards, and, lurking in the shadows, the elusive murderer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A historical mystery/romance
Hall's novel is part mystery, part history, part romance, thoroughly wonderful. The story takes place in San Francisco where journalist Ambrose Bierce (an actual historical figure, probably best known for his "Devil's Dictionary") and his assistant (the narrator of the book) are attempting to unravel a murder that appears to be related to the "Trey of Pearls," three beautiful suffragettes.

One of the Pearls is second cousin to the narrator who falls in love with her and tries to woo her. The young lady is uninterested in marriage, however, being a proponent of the new-fangled philosophy of "Free Love" which states that marriage is slavery and a woman can only truly love someone when she enters the sexual relationship free of artificial social, religious, and legal bonds. Will Bierce find the murderer? Will the lovely suffragette relent and marry her enamored cousin?

The tension level in this book is just right - not cranked up to thriller-levels of anxiety but satisfyingly present enough to keep the reader turning pages. The glimpse of historical San Francisco and the delightful close view of Bierce are icing on the cake. A lovely, light read. Apparently, the author has written a series of Ambrose Bierce mysteries. I definitely enjoyed this one enough to want to seek out the others.

... Read more

Book Description
Ambrose Bierce was born in 1842 and mysteriously disappeared in 1914. During his lifetime, he was a controversial and prolific writer, and there is growing interest in his works. As a Union soldier during the Civil War, he witnessed bloodshed and the atrocities of battle. After the war, he began a career as a journalist in San Francisco, where many of his newspaper columns were filled with venom and daring. In addition, he wrote war stories and tales of the supernatural, along with an assortment of poems. Today, he is probably best remembered as the author of The Devil's Dictionary, originally published as The Cynic's Dictionary in 1906. This reference is a guide to his life and writings. An opening essay overviews Bierce's contribution to literature and journalism, and a chronology summarizes the most important events in his life. The bulk of the Companion comprises alphabetically arranged entries on Bierce's major works and characters and on historical persons and writers who figured prominently in his life and career. Thus the volume provides coverage of Bierce's contemporaries, many of whom he satirized in his scathing newspaper columns. Many of the entries list works for further reading, and the book closes with a selected, general bibliography. Because of Bierce's concern with so many issues of his day, the volume offers a valuable perspective on American culture during the time in which he lived. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An underwhelming effort
I was deeply disappointed by this book. The entries on individual stories don't provide basic bibliographical information about first publication or subsequent appearances. Entries consist of facile plot summaries with next to nothing by way of critical insight or biographical context. I'm astounded such a feeble work was even published. The work of S. T. Joshi on Bierce is far more substantial on both bibliographical and biographical issues. The only use for such a book as this is if you can't remember in which story a particular character appears. ... Read more

Book Description
Ambrose G. ("Almighty God") Bierce, San Francisco's legendary newspaperman and sometime-sleuth, is hardly surprised to be consulted by William Randolph Hearst when the latter's mistress finds herself photographically compromised.

But in the rough 1890s Bay Area streets, Hearst's isn't the only case on the boil. Bierce and his sidekick Tom Redmond follow a trail of murder that leads from a sinister British yachtsman to a photographer of female flesh, via the beauty queen of the Portuguese Pentecostal festival; white slavers; a slave ship and the Chinese girls who have been imported on it; tong hit men; Dionysian revels; and a shocking photography ring. Bierce's unraveling of it all sheds a blinding light on parental guilt and fin-de-siécle morality. The third in Hall's Ambrose Bierce series, this is a must-have for fans of Caleb Carr's The Alienist, E. L. Doctorow's The Waterworks, and all historical adventures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Hardy Boys for adults.
Ambrose Bierce is a cynical writer for the San Francisco Examiner who likes to investigate mysteries.In this story, set in 1891, he delves into the murder of a notorious British yachtsman who is luring young ladies to his boat. The story is told from the perspective of his fellow reporter and side-kick, Tom Redmond, who falls in love with the mysterious Eliza Lindley, which is half the story. Bierce is also smitten by another reporter. The book is mildly amusing and a quick, easy read, but not memorable and therefore hard to recommend.

false advertising
The plot is predictable; the setting ill-developed; and the characters are shallow.The novel could have been as easilyset in the LA of the 1930s as SF of the 1890s.Each chapter is preceded by an entry from the Devil's Dictionary the relevance of which for any given chapter is often problematic. What really rankles me is that although Ambrose Bierce is featured in the title he is a VERY minor character in the novel coming across as a somewhat cynicalmiddle aged de facto bachelor smitten by a rather supercilious newspaperwoman. On the positive side the novel is short and not demanding--a perfect soporific. ... Read more